Constitutional Convention

Pathfinder
Constitutional Convention
PHS High School Library
Last Updated September 2010

Scope: Guide to materials available in the PHS library, through subscription databases, and through previewed free websites.

Print Resources: Use the Library Catalog to locate print resources in the PHS Library . Use the keywords to search our catalog or browse the following sections:

• 342 Constitutional and administrative law (especially around 342.73)
• 973 (Encyclopedias and works of general US history will be near the beginning of 973)
• 973.3 US History: Revolutionary Period and Confederation (1775-1789)
• 973.4 US History: Constitutional Period (1789-1809)

Key Words & Subject Headings:

• U.S., Constitutional Convention (1787)
• Constitutional Convention
• Constitution AND Slavery(or whatever specific aspect you are research)
• United States History, 1783-1789 (Confederation)

Subscription Databases:
See library staff for user names and passwords.

• American History Online: Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, highlighting the important people and events of the American experience.Use tabs to find Biographies, Events& Topics, Primary Sources, Images & Video and Maps & Chart.

• SIRS Knowledge Source: SIRS Knowledge Source (SKS) is a comprehensive database portal which is comprised of several distinct reference databases including SIRS Researcher®, SIRS Government Reporter®, SIRS Renaissance®, SKS WebSelect™, SIRS Discoverer®, and Discoverer WebFind™.Updated daily, SKS provides relevant, credible information on social issues, science, history, government, the arts and humanities. Full-text articles and Internet resources are carefully selected from thousands of domestic and international publications and respected organizations.

The following databases are published by Gale and have similar interfaces and use similar search strategies.You can search each database individually or search them simultaneously by using Gale’s
.

Click Subject Guide to begin your research.

• Opposing Viewpoints: Information on today's hottest social issues. Features include viewpoint articles, full-text magazine and newspaper articles, primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links to Websites.

• Student Resource Center:Broad database offering resources in literature, cultures, science, history, and geography. Full-text articles from reference works, primary sources, and periodicals.

Free Websites:

• The Constitutional Convention: Primary and secondary sources collected as part of the Teaching American History project of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University.

• National Endowment for the Humanities: Constitution Day Website.

The following is a list of links complied by the National Endowment for the Humanties for High School Students studying the Constitutional Conventions

• American Memory
  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
  • America During the Age of Revolution, 1776-1789
  • Unpaid Soldiers and the Newburgh Conspiracy
  • Spain Closes Navigation of the Mississippi River to American Ships
  • Congress is Unable to Raise Revenue and Repay Revolutionary War Debts
  • Lack of U.S. Naval Strength to Promote and Protect Commerce
• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School
  http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/
  • Declaration of Independence, 1776
  • Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776
  • Articles of Confederation
  • Proceedings of Commissioners to Remedy Defects of the Federal Government, Annapolis Convention, 1786
  • Report of Proceedings in Congress (calling for 1787 Convention)
  • James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787
  • //The Federalist// No. 15, 1787
• Digital History
  http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
  • Guided Readings: The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights
• Online Library of Liberty
  http://oll.libertyfund.org/
  • James Madison to Edmund Randolph, 8 April 1787
• National Archives Experience
  http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/
  • Constitution of the United States
  • Bill of Rights (Amendments I—X of U.S. Constitution), 1791
  • "A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution"
  • Question and answer page about the Constitution and 1787 Convention
• The Papers of George Washington
  http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/index.html
  • George Washington to James Warren, 7 Oct. 1785
  • George Washington to John Jay, 15 August 1786
• TeachingAmericanHistory.com
  http://www.teachingamericanhistory.com/
  • Massachusetts Constitution, 1780
  • Gouverneur Morris to John Jay, 1 Jan. 1783
  • Robert Morris to the President of Congress, 17 Mar. 1783
  • Massachusetts farmers take up arms in Shays' Rebellion
  • Rufus King to Elbridge Gerry, 30 April 1786
  • John Jay to Thomas Jefferson, 27 October 1786
  • Continental Congress, Report on Proposed Amendments, 1786
  • John Jay to George Washington, 7 January 1787
  • Edmund Randolph to James Madison, 27 March 1787
  • James Madison, Vices of the Political System of the United States, 1787

• Slavery and the Ratification of the ConstitutionCollection of primary and secondary documents, assembled by the Model Editions Partnership.The partnership includes several academic including the University of South Carolina.

Sites selected by Mr. Henley

• http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution_founding_fathers.htmlhttp://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution_founding_fathers.html

• http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html
• http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_ccon.html